Pedersen: 10 Christmas Things & More

Taking shots …

1 – Culture Club – Merry Christmas from the Home Office in Key Largo, FL! Wait a minute — some people are still complaining about the term “Merry Christmas” being offensive because they’re not Christians and don’t celebrate December 25? Shove it Karen. Cancel Culture is over. Don’t you follow Elon Musk or Donald Trump? It’s the dawn of a new era, just in time for 2025.

2 – Christmas Tidbits – Singer Andy Williams (It’s The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year) was only 5’6″. … The Starbucks Christmas Blonde brew may be the best coffee ever made. … Former Regina Pats goaltender Sean Fleming’s nickname was “Flemwad”. I didn’t know till last night that came from the movie Home Alone! His Twitter handle is even @Flemwad29. I love the old-time Pats stories! … Mariah Carey’s song All I Want For Christmas Is You is the most downloaded Christmas song of all-time, and supposedly the #1 song in all 50 states. … My personal favourite is Holly Jolly Christmas by Burl Ives.  … “And folks dressed up like Eskimos…..” Who approved that lyric?! Again, thank God Cancel Culture is over. Sorry about your luck Edmonton.

3 – Hockey Break – God bless the National Hockey League for taking a three-day break over Christmas, and not bending to the trend set by the NBA and NFL of playing over the Holidays. Florida Panthers head coach Paul Maurice noted after Monday’s fightfilled 4-0 home loss to Tampa Bay that his team had no gas left in the tank and were looking forward to a break. The Stanley Cup champs have put on more miles than anyone else till now, including that trip to Finland for the Global Series, and to Quebec in the preseason. The Cats go into the break at 22-12-2, and leaders of the Atlantic Division. The other division leaders are New Jersey, Winnipeg and Vegas.

Meanwhile the upcoming World Juniors in Ottawa will be great, as always, but serves as little more than an appetizer for February’s Four Nations Faceoff featuring the best players from Canada, USA, Finland and Sweden in a tournament sponsored by the NHL. That will decide global hockey supremacy, minus Russia. I’ll be rooting for Canada, and expect the Red & White to win.

4 – Jake The Snake – The big CFL trade this week which shipped quarterback Jake Maier to Saskatchewan from Calgary, with the Stampeders receiving an eighth round pick the other way is an intriguing one. Clearly Maier wasn’t going to be back with the Stampeders in 2025, so for the Horsemen to get anything in a trade was a win. For the Riders, while many of their followers are denouncing the trade, I’d submit that the Stamps have invested a lot of time and resources into the UC Davis product. Snaps and starts are critical in pro football and Maier has quite a few in prime time. Plus this reunites him with Riders Offensive Coordinator Marc Mueller, who clearly sees an upside. There’s no winner/loser in this trade, but a win for both.

5 – Iggy/Nieuwy – Last week, December 19 in fact, marked the 29th anniversary of the Jarome Iginla-Joe Nieuwendyk trade in the NHL which may go down as the most even, and successful trade in sports history. The Stars drafted Iginla in 1995 and while he posed for photos in their jersey, he never played a game for Dallas. He was shipped to Calgary in 1995, where he would become a franchise icon. Meanwhile Dallas received veteran Joe Nieuwendyk, who led the club to the 1999 Stanley Cup title and was named Conn Smythe Trophy winner as playoff MVP. Talk about a trade both sides would do again!

6 – Fair Trade – People in sports know this but many fans do not. Just because you got traded away doesn’t mean you weren’t valued. I recall chatting with an assistant coach one time who shrugged, “In this league you trade sh*t for sh*t”. I didn’t agree then, and still don’t.

7 – 2024 – Looking back, 2024 was an amazing year! Two new ventures of yours truly bore fruit, like our Cats N Bolts Podcast winning Florida’s Fastest Growing Podcast Award and the Moose Jaw Miller Express being voted WCBL’s Top Play-By-Play. THANK YOU SO MUCH TO THE FANS!!! It’s pretty dang refreshing at my advanced age to collect industry awards, especially in an industry which has changed so much. Just wait till you see what we have up our sleeve in 2025! Evolve or die.

Meanwhile I’m still shaking my head, and chuckling a bit, at the NFL’s comment this week that they’d like to see more coverage on the RP Show. Talk about bold! But that’s how the NFL got to where they are. We’ll see. 

8 – Fallen Comrades – It wasn’t all great however. Rider Nation lost two pillars in Jim Hopson and Ken Miller. Those guys bled green, were joined at the hip in a lot of ways, but their place in Rider lore is cemented. They won! … As George Jones sang, Who’s Gonna Fill Their Shoes? … It’s fascinating to follow, but I don’t see anyone at the moment.

9 – Power Rankings – With the coaching and quarterback carousels having ground to a halt, there’s not much on the CFL offseason horizon from what I can see. Here are your current Power Rankings at Christmas 2024: 1) Toronto, 2) Winnipeg, 3) Saskatchewan, 4) Montreal, 5) Calgary, 6) BC, 7) Ottawa, 8) Edmonton, 9) Hamilton. … It’ll be interesting to see what Buck Pierce does with Nathan Rourke once he gets his hands on him in BC. … McLeod Bethel-Thompson took some major shots at the Edmonton Elks in an interview with the Montreal Gazette. Time will tell if he’s correct. … From firsthand experience, it’s best to just zip it and move forward. Tough to do however, especially when you’ve been through what McBeth has. … No shock Cody Fajardo has taken a restructure/paycut in Edmonton. People are still turning their noses up at the Green & Gold, but they’ve got nowhere to go but up. … I love the CFL. There are many things about it which I wish would evolve but have finally realized it’s not happening. But it’s still tremendous.

10 – Random Thoughts – Look it up; Nostradamus says the Russia/Ukraine War will end in 2025. He also predicted a natural disaster in the Amazon, and significant medical advancements in prevention and treatment. … Donald Trump isn’t serious about Canada becoming the 51st state. He’s just trolling. If that were to happen, it would require a violent takeover, which isn’t happening. Say what you want about Trump, but at least he’s not a wimp. … Somebody poked me on Facebook yesterday. That’s still a thing? … “Cowboys and cattle don’t take holidays.” … Very disappointed in the final season, and series finale, of Yellowstone. … Santa Claus came to town, on a Jet Ski. Dozens of children with disabilities gathered on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana beach this week to receive presents — and joy — from the white-bearded man himself, a joint effort by the city’s firefighters and nonprofit associations. With the temperature at 80 degrees, firefighter sergeant Thiago Carvalho de Paiva wore a Santa Claus costume in tropical Rio, moving through the water as beachgoers cheered. The day began with a show of sniffing dogs displaying their skills and continued through lunch, with popcorn and refreshing acai bowls. The celebration reached its peak when Santa arrived on Jet Ski, making a grand entrance on the shores of Brazil ’s postcard city.

Y’er welcome,
RP
@rodpedersen